Pages

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Couldn’t wait for our weekend to start. So excited to get packed and head out. Twenty minutes later...we were stuck.

Mass exodus.

Where are all the people coming from?
Good heavens, driving I-70 before, during, or after a 3-day weekend is
pure torture! STOP MOVING HERE! Denver is not the place for you!

Colorado Department of Transportation advised not to travel east between
the hours of 3:00 and 7:00 p.m. We
obeyed. It took us one hour to get from
our home to the top of Floyd Hill. Thank
God we had hospitable friends in Evergreen.
A nice place to rest, refresh and use the bathroom. We visited and caught up with them for two
hours waiting for the traffic to subside.
It did not. We got back in the
fray and headed east.

Destination: Glenwood Springs

With the unplanned stop, it took us 7 hours to reach our hotel. God we were tired. Good thing our tee time was @ 12:20 p.m.

Friday, July 4

We let it go. It is heavenly to
wake up in the Rocky Mountains. We
wonder where the crowds have gone. Glenwood
is not overly crowded.

We stumbled upon a beautiful, little, unknown jewel, the Ironbridge
Golf Course which used to be a member-only course. Not anymore.
We really enjoyed our day here.
Several holes are on the river and the back plays into the
mountains. We will most definitely be
back. Hopefully, upon my return, I will
be a better golfer…

19th Hole.
Red, White & Blue.

We spent our Saturday at the “pool”.
Not just any pool. It is the
world’s largest,125-year-old, naturally-fed hot springs pool with therapeutic waters. We love it here. This has been a regular summer activity for
us for the past 23 years.

See that reddish "spa" building? It is the original from 1888.

We were a little disappointed to find out that the city would not be
having a fireworks display in honor of the 20th anniversary of the
Storm King Mountain fire and the fallen firefighters. We Googled
to find any other holiday celebration in the valley. Really.
How did we manage before cell phones?
Siri? MapQuest? I digress.

We decided to go to a family-friendly-picnic-in-the-park in New Castle a
very small, nearby mountain town. What a
gem! The park was small and the BBQ
dinner was hosted by the local school.
It was clean, friendly and quaint.
The fireworks started promptly at 9:30 p.m. accompanied by an amped-up
stereo, playing every American anthem ever written. Only problem?
A fairly big wait time in between the obviously choreographed timing of
the rockets. We noticed firemen with
headlamps and flashlights scouting the hillside after every display to make
sure there were no burning embers. The
fireworks exploded directly over our heads with an eerie echo in the
canyon. Bits of soot and artillery shell
landed in our laps. After a short while,
we decided every city should lengthen their display. These were some of the best fireworks we’ve
ever seen! The “show” lasted until 10:20
p.m. – 50 minutes!

Pleasantly surprised.

Happy and feeling patriotic.

We decided to hike on Sunday.
With the 20th anniversary of the Storm King Mountain fire
celebration going on; there was no better hiking trail than the 4.2 mile Storm
King Memorial Trail.

OMG. About had a heart attack.

It was straight up & hot.
Glenwood had really planned a special day here. A helicopter was flying back/forth bringing
in the fallen firefighters’ families, landing on the original helispot. An airplane dropped 14 yellow banners, one
for each firefighter. And, there were
firefighters stationed all over the trail.
Most of them lived in the valley, but some were from Bend, Oregon, where
the fallen hotshots and storm jumpers had lived. It was really something. Man…it was steep. I hiked with such a lump in my throat!

And my heart hurt. And my
lungs. My head! My legs!
My back!

These men & women are in shape!
They wore their packs. We tried
one -- 35 lbs! OMG. He also carries a 25 lb. chain saw, wears a
hard hat and suit. I can’t even imagine. These people have a special calling – a “fire”
in their gut. They were born for
this.

Wildfires are somewhat of a common occurrence here, but now we
understand a little more. We appreciate
what they do for Colorado. The
firefighters had to scramble up this mountain without the benefit of the trail,
the manmade stairs, and they couldn’t see and the fire was racing up behind
them. What a tragedy.

It was an honor to hike on such hallowed ground.

We were not in a hurry to get back on I-70 and make the trek home. We had many "what if” plans. We hit the “ascent” at 4:26 p.m. – the long
approach (a 9-mile climb) to the Eisenhower Tunnel, fully prepared for bumper-to-bumper
traffic.

Surprise! There wasn’t any, we didn’t
even have to hit the brakes once. This
is the mountain escape I remember from my youth.

What a glorious, meaningful weekend in our great state, but please…don’t
move here!

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

It's been kinda slow and go lately. I am working on a themed Halloween (yes Halloween in the middle of July -- good thing I've got loads of supplies). This is a mini album for my grandson -- one that he can just drop his yearly costume pics and Halloween activities in each year. It has been time consuming, but will be so cute!

I seriously could not be any happier! It's a great feeling to see your work in a magazine! Even if they're not really printed anymore...

Here is the LO in all of its glory:

I remember Gavin’s 3-month photo shoot…trying so hard to
capture his new baby grin and new emerging personality and his first "tummy" pose. So, when I was finally able to get it scrapbooked,
my mission was exactly the same. Imagine
my delight when I found baby boy papers/stickers to match the stuffed-monkey-growth-measuring
animal we’d been using all these months!

Is that hand stitching you ask? Yes.
It. Is. Painstakingly poked, threaded and stitched
with three-ply embroidery floss. But, I love the
dimension it adds to the LO and it is so perfect for a kid-themed project. If you are as old as me, you might remember
the yarn stitching cards we practiced on when we were kids...with a giant needle!

Judy

About Me

By day, I am a part-time Administrative Assistant and by night I am an avid scrapbooker, photographer, card maker; in general, a paper crafts aficionado.
My most favorite thing to do is travel, Travel, TRAVEL! I don't care if it is a long, overseas vacation or a 90-minute drive from home.
I am fortunate to be celebrating the 22nd year of a great love affair. Bill gives me a great deal of my material and is always a willing subject. I have two grown children and two quasi-stepchildren. In June, 2013...I...became...a GRANDMA! Oh boy, did life change.
I was bitten by the scrapbook bug about 15 years ago when I finally succumbed to the notion that we could indeed cut our photos. Since then I have managed to start a small scrapbook business, host crop nights in my home, and when we became empty-nesters, took over an entire bedroom all for me and my hobby (er, obsession). It's like having my own play room all over again.
It's a good life, indeed.